CONTRACT NEWS IN BRIEF
EUROPE
LAND
27 Mar 09. Terrier Combat Engineer Vehicle: Production Confirmed
The Defence Equipment Minister confirmed (27 Mar 09) that production is to start for 60 Terrier armoured engineer vehicles at BAE Systems’ Newcastle factory. Construction work is to begin in 2010, with the vehicle entering service in 2013. The value of the contract is now said to be £300m.
Comment: Terrier is being procured to replace the Combat Engineer Tractor (CET), which is being removed from service and is not currently deployed on Operations. Terrier should have entered service, with the first 20 vehicles, in December 2008. Development difficulties delayed the in-service date until December 2011 and then to 2013 (as shown above). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 09/14, 30 Mar 09)
30 Mar 09. On 27 March 2009 Jeff MacLeod, General Manager of Colt Canada & Alex Payne, Contracts Manager, signed a €33m contract with the Defence Materiel Organisation of the Netherlands in The Hague. The contract is for the supply of upgrade packages, optical sights, and accessories to the Dutch Armed Forces. Colt Canada will act as prime contractor with Aimpoint, Oerlikon Contraves, Brugger & Thomet, and Tdi Arms as main subcontractors. With the upgrade packages, optical sights and accessories the Dutch Armed Forces will be upgrading their existing fleet of Colt Canada assault weapons to the latest standards. The upgrade work will be taken care of by the Royal Netherlands Navy workshop in Den Helder. Colt Canada is offering a 100% industrial participation package. (Source: ASD Network)
25 Mar 09. Small Arms Ammunition: Contract Award. The Defence Contracts Bulletin (25 Mar 09) confirmed that a £5m contract has been awarded to Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos for 9mm ball ammunition. Six million rounds per year are required for four years.
Comment: The above contract follows similar contracts awarded to Ruag Ammotec of Switzerland for 5.56mm ammunition. Once again, no explanation has been offered as to why a small arms ammunition contract had to go offshore and was not awarded to BAE Systems (Radway Green) under the Project MASS arrangements announced in August 2008. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 09/14, 30 Mar 09)
27 Mar 09. NATO has awarded to EADS Defence & Security (DS) the contract for the supply of the new NATO Deployable Communication and Information System according to the operational requirements of the NATO Response Force (NRF). The contract’s value is around £40M with an optional Customer Logistic Support contract valued around £14m. DS will deliver to NRF Commanders the communications facilities to support their headquarters in the field anywhere that the NRF is required to operate. The project represents a major upgrade in the capability of NATO forces. It will become the standard for NATO deployable communications and will be the cornerstone for the NATO Signals Battalion capability to support deployment in operational theatres.
27 Mar 09. Lockheed Martin Corp. Missile and Fires Control, Grand Prairie, Texas was awarded on Mar. 10, 2009, a $59,000,000 cost plus fixed fee and firm fixed price contract for upgrade kits for the UK M270 Launcher to meet the requirements of the Future Fire Control System. Work is to be performed at Grand Prairie, Texas, (90 precent) and East Camden, Ark., (10 precent) with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2012. One bid was solicited and one received. U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-09-C-0302).
SEA
31 Mar 09. The Warship Support Modernisation Initiative (WSMI), a partnering agreement between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Babcock Marine at Devonport, has been renewed for a further four years to April 2013. The announcement follows a highly successful 18 month contract extension to April 2009, which delivered substantial savings to the MoD and established important advan